Triangle
by cyberhawk777
Summary: After Dr. Quest receives a call from an old friend requesting his assistance, the Quests are off to investigate one of the most well-known centers of strange occurrences in the world: the Bermuda Triangle.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: While trying to come up with an idea for another TRAJQ fanfic, I realized that not only were there no episodes of the series that had the team going to the Bermuda Triangle, but to my knowledge, no one on this site has even written about it. So, I decided to give it a shot. Please R & R. And, of course, here's the obligatory copyright statement:**

 **All Jonny Quest characters are copyright Hanna-Barbera/Warner Bros. I'm making no money from this.**

It was a balmy late-summer day in the Florida Keys, as Dr. Quest worked in his lab on yet another new project. While he was considering how to solve a difficult problem, I.R.I.S.' voice broke through his concentration.

"Dr. Quest. You have a call from Dr. John Walters."

"Thank you, I.R.I.S. I'll take it in here," the doctor replied as he picked up the phone handset.

"Hello, John. It's good to hear from you," he greeted his friend and occasional colleague.

"Hello, Benton. I'm sure you've heard about the recent increase in ships lost in the mid-Atlantic, near the Eastern side of the Bermuda Triangle. They haven't even been near the Sargasso Sea, just at the edge of the triangle," Walters said, quickly going into the main purpose of his call..

"Could it have been Pirates?" Dr. Quest immediately suggested.

"Not likely. There have been no reported sightings of any hostile ships from the air. Even if there were any, there isn't anywhere for them to hide and they would've been spotted by now."

Benton nodded to himself, thinking of other possibilities. "I'm curious as to why you're involved. I would think authorities from Bermuda, or even the US military, would be handling this instead of an energy researcher."

Walters then explained, "A science station I've been working at in Bermuda happened to pick up a burst of energy about the same time the last ship lost contact. It, along with the past two, was searching for earlier vessels that had vanished. I became interested after I was brought in to study the readings and try to determine a cause. Given that the ships are disappearing just inside or near the Bermuda Triangle, we wanted to ask for your help as a phenomenologist. We've given up on more rational explanations and I thought you might be able to check...other possibilities."

"I would be glad to help any way I can."

At that, the two men began making the necessary arrangements. Time and distance prohibited sailing in Questor to Bermuda, so it was decided everyone would fly to the island with whatever additional equipment Dr. Quest required and then set up on the ship they would be using.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Dr. Quest hung up the phone and walked out of the lab on his way to the house. As he approached, he met up with Race, who was just going out to wax his sports car.

"I recognize that look," Race said after glancing at Dr. Quest, "Where and when are we going?"

Dr. Quest laughed at his bodyguard's perceptiveness. "We're flying to Bermuda to investigate recent disappearances of ships around the Bermuda Triangle."

Race smiled and shook his head. "You know, with all the crazy stuff we've seen, I'm kind of surprised we haven't been there, yet."

Walking into the living room, Dr. Quest told Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji, "Kids, go pack some suitcases. Dr. Walters called and wants me to assist in investigating the disappearances of some ships around the Bermuda Triangle."

"But Dr. Quest," Jessie began curiously, "Strange stuff goes on there all the time. What makes this so different?"

Benton nodded and explained, "Usually, the strange occurrences don't happen this often. Some of the ships weren't even actually inside the triangle. Dr. Walters said a research station picked up some strange energy readings and, knowing the reputation of the area, they thought I could be helpful. We'll be flying to Bermuda in an hour with everything we need. Once we get there, we'll all be boarding the latest ship to be sent to investigate."

Looking at Hadji, he added, "Due to your familiarity with my work, you and Jessie will be assisting me."

The two nodded in acknowledgement as Dr. Quest then turned to Jonny. "You and Race will be coming along as well, Race in case of any problems and you because I'm not about to leave you here alone. Whenever you kids are here by yourselves, something always goes wrong."

"Got it, Dad." Jonny agreed with a laugh.

Everyone went their separate ways to get packed and ready for the trip Soon, they were all headed out to the airport where they kept their aircraft.

The variety of equipment Dr. Quest would need was loaded into the Dragonfly and everyone prepared for takeoff. Race went through his pre-flight checklist and soon the large aircraft was in the air.

During the flight, the group discussed the various theories about the Bermuda Triangle. Unlike most, they accepted even the stranger possibilities as valid, given the experiences they already had with the Anasazi, the other-dimensional beings they had to repel from a research facility in Louisiana, and a wide variety of others. It actually wouldn't be the strangest thing they had ever experienced.

Eventually, the group finally landed at Bermuda International, Dr. Walters was waiting for them at the airport terminal.

"Benton! It's good to see you," Walters greeted Dr. Quest warmly, extending a hand.

Dr. Quest shook his hand and replied, "It's great to see you, too, John. I believe you know everyone, especially my bodyguard Race and my son, Jonny. Besides them are Race's daughter Jessie, and my adopted son Hadji." As he named everyone off, Dr. Quest motioned to them each in turn. Bandit barked as if trying to make sure no one forgot him.

"And this is Bandit," Dr. Quest laughed.

Walters nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. Has Benton told you about what's going on?"

Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji all answered in the affirmative, with Hadji adding, "We are anxious to help solve this mystery."

"I Just hope you can find something. This is the last ship to be sent on the search. If it wasn't for how some weren't even within the Triangle, we wouldn't even be going out this time," Dr. Walters explained soberly, "That just makes it stranger than usual.

"Don't worry. We'll find them," Dr. Quest said reassuringly.

A car was waiting outside to take the Quests to a hotel, where they could drop off their things. Dr. Quest and Race, and Jonny and Hadji each shared a two-room suite, while Jessie got a single room to herself. The family went to a nice restaurant for supper, before settling in for the night.

The next morning found everyone at a dock loading equipment into a large research vessel. Race was both helping and overseeing this part, while Dr. Quest was inside getting everything installed and prepared for the work that lay ahead.

Eventually, the large craft was ready to set off to the region they would primarily be searching, which range from about 50 nautical miles south of Bermuda and as far west, toward the Sargasso Sea, as possible. Once they arrived in the first section, Dr. Quest began his work with Hadji and Jessie assisting him. Race mostly alternated between standing in the lab or the helm, and walking outside around the main deck, alert for any signs of trouble.

Meanwhile, Jonny was beginning to get bored as he wandered the deck with Bandit. "I really expected more excitement than this," he said to the dog, before looking out at the open water.

After spending much of the day searching without any luck, Dr. Quest told Race, "Go ask the helmsman to move closer to the Sargasso Sea itself. I'm not finding anything out here."

"Are you sure about that, Doc? We don't want to get stuck."

"We don't have to get too close. I just want to run a few scans and can't seem to get any readings from that area." Dr. Quest reassured him.

Dr. Walters then added, "If he is worried about damage to or interference with electrical equipment on board, remind him that we have already anticipated it and should be more than adequately prepared.

Race passed along the message and the helmsman reluctantly piloted the vessel as close as they could safely get to the seaweed-covered region, surrounded by a graveyard of ships that had made ill-advised attempts to pass through the area and never came out.

Nothing changed for the next few minutes after they came to a full stop, until Hadji noticed a warning message on one of the screens monitoring for unusual activity.

"Dr. Quest," he began with a mixture of curiosity and urgency in his voice, "I'm getting some strange energy readings."

"Where from?" came the reply.

Hadji paused to make sure he was correct, before responding nervously, "Directly beneath us."

"Hurry! Get us out of here!" Dr. Quest shouted.

"Uh, Dad. It may be a little late for that." Jonny called from the port deck.

Dr. Quest and Jessie walked just outside to see what he was talking about when they noticed the water glowing brightly beneath them and the water becoming stirred up.

Without further warning, a bright flash of light engulfed the vessel, before dimming almost as suddenly as it had begun. Within seconds, the light had completed faded. The water was now calm, but the ship and everyone in it had completely vanished!


	2. Chapter 2

An unknown time later, the ship was full of groaning as dazed men and women came to and began to try and stand to their feet. Dr. Quest's first thought was of Race and the kids. He glanced around him and saw they were around him and had apparently awoke about the same time he had.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked.

"I'm okay, Dad," came Jonny's reply, "and so's Bandit." he added as the dog shook off the remaining daze and ran over to him.

Jessie then answered, "Same here, Dr. Quest."

"I am fine, as well," said Hadji.

"I'm good too, Doc," Race answered, "but where are we?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Dr. Quest answered as he realized something surprising: no one had looked around outside, yet, or had noticed they weren't rocking with the waves anymore. As they looked around them, it became evident they were in an enormous room. The ship, along with presumably all the others that were missing, was essentially dry-docked and setting on a plain, metal surface. The room itself seemed well-lit, although he couldn't spot any light sources.

The biggest surprise, however, came when they looked up at the clear dome overhead that was shielding them from a large amount of water. Suddenly, he came to the realization that they were at the bottom of the ocean!

The group then began to walk around the ship to check on the others aboard. Everyone seemed fine, apart from the confusion, and the equipment didn't appear to be damaged. It was time to disembark and try to determine where exactly they were. A handful of crew members, in addition to Dr. Walters, traveled with the Quests, Race, and Jessie to check out some of the nearby ships.

At the first ship the group came to, which was the last one to disappear before theirs, Walters called out, "Helloooo! Is anyone aboard?!"

After a few seconds, everyone on that ship walked out on deck, "Dr. Walters? Don't tell me they caught you, too!" a man who appeared to be the captain shouted.

Dr. Quest then called to the man, "Can you let down the gangplank so we can come aboard to talk?!"

"Of course!" came the answer.

The captain and several other men went to work on it and, after a few seconds, the group was walking up onto the other ship. It was decided that they would talk in a dining room below deck. It turned out, this was the last ship to vanish before Walters contacted Dr. Quest.

Once they were inside, the captain introduced himself as James Reed and began detailing his and his crew's experience. "As you probably know, we were searching for the earlier vessels when we ventured closer to the Sargasso Sea, remaining what we thought was a safe distance away. Then, without warning, the waters started getting rough and a bright light began to shine under us. The next thing we knew, there was a blinding flash and we woke up here."

"That's what happened to us, too," Jonny piped up.

Race then commented, "At least everyone seems to be making it okay, here."

The first officer responded, "Only because we carried extra supplies with us." His expression sobered as he added, "We have explored the other nearby ships. Most of the other crews do not appear to have been as successful."

"So how many crews are left?" Dr. Quest asked.

"Only ourselves and the crews of the last two ships before us, although they recently began raiding the others for any supplies we may have missed," Captain Reed told him.

"I was wondering," Hadji began curiously, "has anyone found a possible way out of here?"

Reed shook his head. "We've looked, but we can't seem to find a door. The only object of interest we came across is what appears to be a small electrical panel on the far northeastern wall, which is the only one that's solid, but we can't get it open."

"Can you show us?" Race asked, "Maybe we can take a crack at it."

Captain Reed stood and motioned to a few of his men, before saying, "Follow us."

Everyone was on their guard, not knowing for certain what to expect as they wandered through the eerie graveyard of ships, noticing some that probably dated back at least 200 years.

A short while later, they were at the northeastern wall, looking at the panel the captain had told them about.

"Interesting," commented Dr. Quest as he examined it.

Race took a close look at the panel, before pulling out a pocket knife and flipping the blade open, "Too small to get my fingers in, but maybe this will work."

He tried with all his might to pop it open, only for the blade on his knife to bend almost 90 degrees. The panel, on the other hand, didn't even have a scratch.

Everyone except for the ship crewmen looked at the blade with surprise. "What now?" one of the crewmen asked.

"Maybe we could try shorting it out," Jessie offered.

Dr. Quest examined the panel as best as he could and agreed. "That could work."

"And I know where to get just what we need," Jonny announced, "C'mon Jess, Hadj."

As they approached the ship, the trio was shocked to find a group of rough-looking men, likely some of those from the other ships they had been told about, rummaging through everything. The men wore torn, faded clothes and bore intense expressions under their wild hair. Even a quick look at them showed they were starting to become malnurished.

"Hey! Stop!" Jonny shouted as he, Jessie, and Hadji ran up the gangplank.

They were immediately met by three of the scavengers, who tried to block their way. Each of the teens took a man, quickly dispatching them and moving further toward the main group. A fight ensued on the main deck, with Jonny and Hadji finally lunging at some of the men and knocking them over the side, onto the ground, and Jessie taking down another two with a flurry of kicks. Bandit had grabbed onto the leg of another man and held on, distracting him, until Jonny finally brought the man down. Eventually, the leader and remaining men surrendered.

"Why were you trying to take our things?" Jessie asked.

The leader, Captain Newman, replied, "Look, we all know none of us are getting out of here. We've been here for a few months and know the only way to survive is for it to be every man for himself."

"Well we're gonna make it," Jonny replied defiantly.

The leader scoffed at this. "That's what everyone who gets stuck here says at some point. Then, they finally get smart and give up."

"Never!" Hadji answered him.

"And now, it would be a good idea for you to leave this ship and I suggest you don't come back," Jessie said in a somewhat-threatening tone.

Captain Newman and the others grumbled as they walked back to the ground and left, apparently for their own vessel. Finally, Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji could walk to the area where Dr. Quest's equipment was still set up, thankfully unharmed. The crew members from the ship had failed to fight off the other men, but were also unharmed, except for a few bruises and some being knocked out.

Once they reached the improvised lab, the teens grabbed some wire, a pair of relatively-large batteries, and some other items, before they took off for the door, again.

After the teens arrived and quickly pieced together their improvised device, Dr. Quest went to work carefully moving the portion of bare wire around the opening in the panel until there was a pop of electricity, which caused a large door hidden in the wall to slide open.

Once they finally walked through the exit of the massive room in which they had been trapped, everyone was surprised to find they were at one end of a large underwater city. They stepped out and stared to look around, until a noise that was unmistakably an alarm began to sound, prompting Bandit to begin wildly barking as he sensed danger. In the distance, the group could see some sort of armored guards rushing toward them.

"Out of the frying pan, into the fire," Race muttered, mostly to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

As the guards approached, one of the ship's crewmen walking with the Quests, Ted Shrir, made the rash decision to draw a gun he had on his belt. Unfortunately, one of their assailants reacted too quickly for him and shot him with an energy weapon, leaving the man lying motionless on the ground as bolts of energy occasionally coursed through his body. Bandit slowly walked over, sniffed at the man, and then returned to Jonny's side.

The same guard then pointed the weapon at the others, as if daring them to try the same thing, prompting Dr. Quest to motion for the other crewmen to drop their weapons and they all raised their hands. The doctor then told the guards, "Relax. We'll go peacefully."

The group was led through a walkway overlooking a large city with structures reaching hundreds of feet into the air. From the height, it was difficult to get a good look at the inhabitants of the city, but all did notice that a large version of the clear dome from the ship room covered the rest of the city, as well. The buildings all appeared metallic and were colored in gray, silver, or black. Several had long, thin spires on top.

"Those are probably some sort of communications towers," Dr. Quest thought.

A network of elevated metal walkways, similar to the one they were on now, intersected throughout the city. Only guards like the ones escorting them seemed to use the walkways, apparently for quick and easy routes between sections of the city.

After going a bit further, they finally reached a larger, more decorated building. The guards stopped as a beam of light from some sort of scanner passed over them, after which the doors split and slid open.

They were led into a large room, at the end of which was a tall, silver chair with a desk in front of it. Everyone correctly guessed that this was likely the leader of the aliens in the city. The room struck a balance between ornate and utilitarian, with various designs etched into the walls and painted. 2 guards stood at the doorway and 4 more lined the path to the being seated in the chair. All of the extraterrestrials were about average height, ranging from around 5-foot-7 to 6-foot-3, with skin that was sort of a bluish-gray. Besides their skin and very dark eyes, the beings otherwise looked very similar to humans. Their hair seemed to either be black or dark brown, and they wore simple clothing in various colors seemingly based on rank or position, but none of the humans could find a specific correlation.

"Greetings. I am J'orda of the Akierans," the seated alien introduced himself, before motioning to his right, where another alien, similar in appearance to him sat, "and this is Siert'a, my second-in-command and head of security.

"Hello," Dr. Quest greeted the beings, "I am Dr. Benton Quest, a scientist, and these are my sons Jonny and Hadji, my bodyguard Race Bannon, and his daughter Jessie." As he named off everyone, Dr. Quest motioned to each in turn. After introducing his family, he also introduced the crew members from the ship that were with them. Unlike Quest Team, they weren't as calm about their current situation.

"You do not seem as surprised or afraid as others from your world have been upon meeting us, including those who are with you" J'orda observed as he studied the visibly-unnerved crewmen.

Race half-smiled and commented, "Well, we've already met aliens about...4 times?" he asked, looking at the others, "So it's not really a big thing to us, anymore."

"Why did you bring us here, anyway?" Jonny asked impatiently, prompting looks from his father and Jessie.

"That is a valid question. Because of advances in human technology, we have been concerned that our existence will be exposed for the first time in 500 of your years."

Anticipating their next question, he added, "It was an explorer sailing westward with three vessels. Unfortunately, we did not record his name. After this encounter and knowing humans were not ready to learn of our existence, we submerged our entire city and employ what you might refer to as a "cloaking shield" to hide ourselves from the curious. In the past, that has rarely been an issue, but recently your vessels have been coming closer to potentially detecting the city. Your scanning technology has improved to the point of almost detecting the energy signature from our cloaking shield, so we have been more wary, transporting vessels here from somewhat further away."

Everyone nodded as the alien leader continued after pausing to let what he had said sink in, "We are unable to evacuate the entire city and, being a scientific installation, have few weapons with which to effectively defend ourselves in case of an attack. Therefore, we choose to be cautious. For many years, we have transported vessels that came close to finding our location to the room you found yourselves in upon your arrival. Usually, the humans aboard the vessels are left to remain there. You are the first to determine a means of escape."

Jonny then interrupted with some annoyance, "Yeah. We're just full of surprises."

His father, however, was still curious about the rest of the background story. "Why did you come here in the first place?"

"And where is here?" Hadji added.

J'orda looked at Hadji to answer his question first, before turning to the others, "You would know it as 'Atlantis.' Many from our world were sent here over 2000 years ago to create a colony both as a base of operations to study the inhabitants of this planet and their societal development. We were to pay special attention to the point at which you were ready for us to make our presence known and begin to share some of our knowledge with you."

It was Jessie's turn to ask a question, "So are we prisoners here or may we leave?"

The leader looked at her calmly and responded, "I believe you mean no harm. As long as you are here, you will be treated as guests and may explore much of the city, with the exception of certain areas that are restricted. However, I regret that we cannot allow you to return to the surface."

At this news, everyone was shocked. They had found the city of Atlantis and were trapped there. J'orda dismissed them to look around the city, saying that for now they would have to sleep aboard their ship, but he would have some of his people locate more permanent quarters for them. He also gave each of them translation devices that fit over their ears, sort of a more advanced form of devices the Quests had used in the past, as not all the Akierans spoke English.

"Why are you treating them so nicely, J'orda?" Siert'a asked after the humans had left, "They're humans. We can't trust them."

Still looking at the door, J'orda answered, "Because, Siert'a, they are the first humans to discover how to escape the holding room and, some of them at least, were not afraid of us and were rather calm about this. This development requires further study and I wish to keep them here so we can observe them in more advanced surroundings. If mankind has truly developed to this point, the time for us to reveal ourselves may be closer than we thought. Relax, these humans appear to be harmless."

"I'm still not convinced. I'll have someone watch them."

"As you wish," J'orda sighed, "but be sure they do not see whoever you send. I want them to be comfortable here."

As Siert'a nodded reluctantly and silently walked out of the room with a frown, J'orda thought, "I hope I do not regret this decision."

 **A/N: I know some of you who are paying close attention will question Race saying they've encountered aliens "4 times" when it was actually a total of five: Alien in Washington, Return of the Anasazi/Trouble on the Colorado, Other Space, Secret of the Moai, and the Dark Mountain. The reason I only count four of those is because the memories of the incident were erased from everyone's memories at the end of Secret of the Moai. Therefore, to them, it would only seem like four encounters.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay. My schedule got busy and I had to deal with a little writer's block, but hopefully the remaining chapters should come a lot more quickly.**

Chapter 4

While the Quests and other crew members were inside the large building at the other end of the city, no one gave much thought to Shrir, who had been hit with the energy weapon. About the time the conversation with the extraterrestrial leader was ending, he awoke in the same place where he fell. Evidently, the guards neglected to send someone to retrieve him. His first thought was to dart back through the doorway into the ship room, in hopes of bringing the remaining crew members to try and help.

Unfortunately, about halfway back to their ship, he was intercepted by the scavengers. Many of those present were part of the group that Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji stopped from looting their ship and, along with the rest, were looking for a way to get back at the Quests and the ship's crew.

"Please! You've got to help!" Shrir quickly pleaded, "They've taken everyone! We have to stop them quickly!"

The other men looked at each other and smiled slyly. "Sure. We'll help you. Just tell us where they went." Newman said calmly.

"I'll show you. Just come with me. Quickly." the crewman ordered, desperate to help the Quests and his fellow crew members.

They raced to back to the large door, which was still open, due to not having been repaired yet. Shrir managed to determine the direction where the others had been taken, at which point Newman commented flatly as he drew a pistol, "Thanks. You've been very helpful, but we'll take it from here."

At this, he shot the poor crew member and began making plans with his men on how they would use this information to get even with the Quests _and_ who or whatever had trapped them here. The group walked back to their ship to gather equipment and weapons before pursuing their enemies through the newly-revealed door.

Meanwhile, the Quests and the remaining crewmen with them were walking around the main level of the city, noticing the many Akierans going about their business. The humanoids kept a brisk pace to their destinations. It was clear that most were to be either scientists or guards such as those who had initially captured them earlier. Many of the scientists ignored them, probably wrapped up in their own projects, while others occasionally glanced at them or stared warily. The guards were noticeably unconcerned about their presence, not paying the humans any more attention than they were everyone else.

"They must've been given orders to leave us alone unless we start anything," Race thought as he looked around. Dr. Quest was busy talking to one of the Akieran scientists about a device he was working on, Hadji was studying and asking questions about the other advanced technology, Bandit was sniffing at a small animal that was roaming the street, and Jonny was flirting with an attractive Akieran girl as Jess rolled her eyes.

Race couldn't help but smile toward the two and shake his head. "At least they're staying out of trouble."

A little while later, after everyone had split up to explore, Jonny, Jessie, and Bandit had moved further along and stopped as they encountered a strange sight.

"What's going on over there?" Jonny wondered aloud.

Jessie followed his gaze to see what looked like several guards around three Akierans, the latter looking scared. What was apparently the lead guard of this group said something to them, nudging one with his weapon. The three then reached into pockets and gave the guards something that seemed to be money, at which point the guards pushed past them and moved on.

Jonny walked toward them and asked, "What was that all about?" hoping that the translator device worked both ways.

A male Akieran with a build that would be average for a human, and who looked very similar to the others they had met, answered hesitantly, "The guards were collecting their protection fee from us. They started demanding it not long ago and usually take most of our earnings."

"That doesn't seem right," Jessie commented, "They looked like they were ready to kill you."

The Akieran nodded, "Sometimes, they are a little more aggressive than others. It used to not be this way, but recently the guards have been more strict, imposing restrictions that previously did not exist."

Looking around nervously, one of the others added, "You've said too much. We need to leave."

Without a word, they walked briskly away, going about their business, as Jonny and Jessie considered what had just happened. About that time, Hadji walked up to them quickly.

"Jonny, Jessie, I just saw a man being beaten by several guards," he said before telling them about the incident. "As far as I could tell, they beat him simply for not moving to the side of the walkway as they passed by."

Jonny and Jessie then told what they had seen, with Jessie saying at the end, "It sounds like Atlantis isn't as perfect as it seems. Maybe we should go talk to J'orda."

"But we should not run," Hadji interjected as Jonny was about to take off, "That would draw unneeded attention."

Jonny nodded, "Good point, Hadj. The guards would know we saw something. It'll take longer, but let's act like we just decided to turn around and go back that way."

As they walked, Hadji whispered to his companions, "I just thought of something: what if all this _is_ J'orda's doing?"

"I don't think so. He seemed like a nice guy," Jonny said as he shook his head.

"A lot of leaders may seem okay, but are really tyrants," Jessie reminded him, "They just act nice in front of visitors."

"Only one way to find out," Jonny observed, finishing the conversation.

They continued on, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, with Jonny carrying Bandit to keep him from running after something and attracting unneeded attention.. Eventually, the arrived once again at the building where they had met J'orda and S'ierta. Seeing who they were, and after they explained they needed to tell J'orda about something important they had seen, were let in through the door with the scanner. Then, two rooms before they reached J'orda, they were met by S'ierta.

"Ah. It is the humans. How may I be of assistance?" he asked with an almost suspicious level of warmth.

Jonny spoke first. "We just saw some of your guards shaking down some of the people for money."

"And I saw several of them beating another man," Hadji added.

S'ierta smiled and replied, "It is good that you told me of what you witnessed. We need not bother Jord'a with this matter. I will take appropriate measures at once."

S'ierta walked outside, apparently to speak with the guards about what happened, as Jessie commented softly, "Well, that was easy. Maybe the guards were doing it on their own."

The group decided to leave and continue their exploration, but as soon as they stepped outside, they were met by S'ierta and a number of guards.

"Seize them! They have been trying to sew dissension among the citizens!" he shouted.

Jonny lowered his arms so Bandit could jump to the ground and ordered the dog, "Hurry, boy! Go get Dad and Race!"

 **A/N: I made some minor additions to chapter 3, which help to explain new developments in this chapter. Also, now that you already know what happened to him, I'll leave it to the Star Trek fans to find the clue in chapter 3 to crewman Shrir's fate.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The scavengers scouted the area near the door, quickly realizing they wouldn't go undetected for long. Guards would probably spot them before they'd made it 30 feet. A more strategic approach would be necessary. Newman anticipated that someone would probably arrive soon to fix the door and came up with a plan to obtain free reign over...wherever they were. After explaining everything to his men, he stationed a lookout near the door, while everyone else hid behind nearby boats. Skills picked up during some of the more unsavory parts of Newman's past were again becoming useful.

Eventually, the lookout signaled that someone was coming and, after confirming this, hurried to his hiding place. A tech escorted by two guards arrived and began work on the shorted-out door panel. Before he could get started well, Newman signaled for the men to move in. The guards realized they were approaching and whirled around to face their attackers, only to be quickly overwhelmed due to the superior numbers. Newman's men numbered about 30 between the crews of two ships, with 20 currently with him on this assignment. While the Akierans looked human, the scavengers didn't want to take any chances.

The tech, being far from a fighter, surrendered immediately. After the guards were down, they were relieved of their armor and weapons, which were donned by Newman himself and his first mate/second-in-command. Since the armor included helmets that covered the wearer's face, they could now explore undetected.

looking at the terrified tech, the captain announced as he picked up his sidearm from the ground, "Unfortunately, you've seen too much and we can't risk you talking so..."

At that, he shot the tech, who immediately slumped over. Next, it was time to learn how to use their new weapons. They had seen their captors were obviously aliens and knew whatever they used had to be more effective than bullets.

After firing a few energy blasts from the sort-of silver rifle for practice, and ensuring that everyone knew how to fire the weapons, the two wearing armor prepared to venture out. Their job would be to scout around nearby and hopefully find at least a few more guards to lure into their trap.

–-

Meanwhile, Bandit had finally managed to catch up to Race and Dr. Quest as they were leaving an engineering lab to go look for the teens. Race was the first to notice the dog, pointing him out to Dr. Quest and commenting, "Hey Doc, here comes Bandit."

Dr. Quest replied with concern as he noticed Bandit barking rather urgently, "It looks like something's wrong."

Bandit approached the two, still barking. Dr. Quest asked, "What's the matter, boy? Are Jonny and the others in trouble?"

After he was sure he had the men's attention, bandit turned and began running back in the direction he'd just come from, pausing to look back and bark to make sure they were coming.

Race was the first to pursue the dog. "Looks like he wants us to follow him."

Bandit led the pair to the place where everyone had been captured, just outside the door of the building holding the facility's leadership and where they had been a few hours earlier.

"There's no sign of the kids, but I think Bandit's trying to tell us they were here a short while ago when something happened," Dr. Quest theorized.

Race suggested "We could always go in and find out if anybody's seen them,"

The men entered the building where, like the teens, they were met by Siert'a, shortly before the primary room.

"Greetings. I hope you are enjoying yourselves," he commented nicely.

Dr. Quest replied, "Actually, we're looking for my sons, Jonny and Hadji, and Race's daughter Jessie, but we can't seem to find them."

His demeanor turning cooler, Siert'a replied, "Ah, yes. I believe my guards arrested them earlier."

"For what?!" Race demanded.

"The guards reported that they were attempting to stir unrest among the people and saw it as a security threat."

Dr. Quest scoffed at the suggestion. "That's ridiculous. None of them would start any trouble here."

"Hmmm. Perhaps it is a mistake. Regardless, I will have someone take you to them, if you wish," Siert'a offered.

"Thanks," Race accepted.

Siert'a called for a guard and ordered him to escort the humans to the detention area. Beginning to wonder if they could trust the Akierans, especially the guards, Race and Dr. Quest avoided discussing the situation as the guard led them to the teens.

–-

While all this was going on, Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji had spent a majority of their time trying to find a way out of their cell. It was in a rather plain cellblock, with a small guard station nearby and dull, greyish metal walls. Eventually, Hadji sat down on the floor to meditate on the situation, while Jonny and Jessie continued trying to brainstorm a way out. They had taken off their translators to hopefully keep the guard from knowing what they were talking about.

"Okay, we already sent Bandit after Dad and Race, so him squeezing through an opening is out," Jonny thought aloud.

Jessie added, "And the openings we do have are too small for any of us, even the air vent."

She then looked back at Hadji and suggested, "Maybe Hadj could hypnotize the guard."

Hadji, though meditating, was alert enough to open his eyes when he heard Jessie speak to him. "I have already tried, my friends, when the guard was forcing us into this cell. They seem to be resistant to it."

"Great," Jonny said dejectedly, "Now, what?"

Right on cue, the guard escorting Race and Dr. Quest came in, with the men in tow.

"Dad!" Jonny and Jessie exclaimed to their respective fathers in unison.

"Dr. Quest! Race!" Hadji exclaimed.

"Is everyone all right?" Race asked.

"Yeah, Dad," Jessie answered, "We're fine."

"Other than being stuck in here for a while, anyway," Jonny added.

"Don't worry. We'll get you out," Dr. Quest reassured him, "But it would help if we could talk to J'orda. Now tell us what happened."

Since the guard who escorted the men had returned to his post and the prison guard was called away, the trio related what had happened, with Dr. Quest and Race removing their translators for good measure.

"And then, they put us in here," Hadji finished the story.

"That's it. We've got to try and talk to J'orda. Whether he believes us or not, we have to try," Dr. Quest proclaimed with determination.

Just then, the cell guard returned. Everyone had just put their translators on again, when the guard pointed his energy rifle toward Dr. Quest and Race, "I've been ordered to place you two under arrest as well. Now get in that cell next to the young ones."

"I don't think so," Race replied as he dropped to the floor and swept the guard's legs from under him and took his energy rifle. He used the rifle to knock out the guard, but the encounter had already attracted unwanted attention, preventing them from figuring out how to open the cell door.

"C'mon, Dr. Quest!" Race ordered as he exchanged fire with the other guards. Thanks to his prior training, he was able to figure out how to use the futuristic weapon rather quickly, "We'll have to come back for the kids!"

Dr. Quest nodded and told them quickly, "We'll be back for you soon. At least you're safe, for now."

Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji nodded as the other two left, although not before Dr. Quest had grabbed an energy rifle of his own.

Jonny stared at the door for a few seconds after they left. "I wish we could get out there and help Dad and Race."

"Unfortunately, we cannot. We can only wait and trust that they will be all right," Hadji commented tensely but reassuringly.

Jonny hesitated for a few seconds, before turning his attention back to his companions. "I know."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I had to deal with a little writer's block, but finally managed to work through it. Thanks for sticking with me this long. There'll be at least 1, probably 2 more chapters to go.**

Chapter 6

Dr. Quest and Race ran out of the building, immediately looking for cover. In between taking potshots at the guards who were now after them, Race asked, "So, where to now, Benton?"

Dr. Quest fired a shot and ducked behind the wall where the were hiding, before answering. "Where else? We have to speak with J'orda. Only he can help us out of this."

"How? Siert'a was able to stop us and the kids from getting in there," Race replied, before smiling almost evilly and glanced down at his energy rifle, "Of course, we could probably make him a better offer this time around."

"We're doing whatever it takes to get Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji out."

So, they decided to make their way back once again to the building where the day's adventure had begun. First, however, they would need to make it out of their current predicament, pinned down behind a building. Because of the city's depth, the only light sources were artificial, so even though night had fallen, it still seemed to be daylight.

After a while, the men concluded the rifles were set to stun targets by default, or at least would stun on the first shot. The situation was too hectic to stop and try to figure it out for certain. When most of the guards had been dispatched, Race started glancing around, before settling his gaze on a gap between two buildings leading to another street, which could provide a good escape route. He pointed the location out to Dr. Quest, commenting, "It may be our best shot."

The scientist nodded as they continued returning fire against the remaining guards, before it was finally safe to make a run for it. Dr. Quest dashed to the gap first, with Race providing cover fire. The bodyguard then followed suit, stunning the final Akieran guard as he cut across the open street.

The men raced along, narrowly avoiding the guards that had been set on them, probably by Siert'a. Whatever was going on, all their problems could be traced to him. Eventually, when the pair made it to more cover, they took the opportunity to catch their breath.

"Whew," Race said with a half-hearted laugh, "I'm starting to think I'm getting too old for this."

"I know I'm getting too old for it," Dr. Quest responded.

In the meantime, the teens were trying to come up with an idea to escape and go help Race and Dr. Quest. The guard who had been knocked out by Race was just standing to his feet, preparing to look in on the prisoners and make sure nobody had escaped. He staggered a little as he approached them. Without saying a word to the others, Hadji put on his translator and calmly took the Ruby off his turban to show to the guard.

"I hope you are not injured," he said calmly, "Perhaps this will make up for your troubles. It is a valuable jewel that has been in my family for many years."

The guard stared at the ruby as Hadji continued talking, moving it in a way to reflect the light. "Notice the way it flashes. That is how you can tell it's worth."

The guard had been silent the whole time, but finally nodded slowly at this. Hadji then commented, his tone as calm and level as it had been the whole time, "You no longer wish to keep us imprisoned."

"I no longer wish to keep you imprisoned," the guard repeated.

"You will unlock the cell to free us."

"I will unlock the cell to free you," the guard repeated again as he used the scanner to unlock and open the cell door.

The trio stepped out, with Jonny and Jessie very surprised at what was happening.

"You are tired. You will now step inside the cell and lie down."

The guard stepped inside the cell as Hadji motioned for Jonny or Jessie to grab an energy rifle. Just as the guard was laying down, Hadji then pointed to the panel controls and signaled for Jessie, who was holding the rifle, to prepare to fire on it.

Finally, the guard lay down on the floor and Hadji shouted, "Now, Jessie!"

Jessie shot the panel, causing the cell door to automatically slam shut and waking the guard from his trance.

Everyone ignored his protests and ran out the door. with Jonny carrying Bandit so he wouldn't get lost in the confusion. "Great work Hadj, but I thought you said they couldn't be hypnotized," Jonny commented curiously.

Hadji smiled, "That would appear to be true, but I took the chance that Race's hit with the energy rifle had given the guard a concussion, or that he would at least wake up dazed, and tried again. It would seem that his injury was severe enough to disable the immunity to hypnosis."

"Hey, where are we going, anyway?" Jessie asked, realizing they were running somewhat aimlessly.

"Back to the ship," Jonny answered, "We need backup."

At last, Race and Dr. Quest made it to the headquarters building. Outrunning the guards, the realized they would need one of them to get past the scanner. Both knew that, while they could attempt to short it out, there could be some security measures in place to guard against tampering. Looking around, they saw a guard monitoring some sort of view screen a short distance away, and Race began to walk in his direction. Unfortunately, their energy rifles had apparently gone dead a short while earlier, or Race would've simply stunned the guard.

"I think I just found our ticket in," he observed.

Dr. Quest reached out to stop him. With a smile and a tone of voice revealing his anger at the Akierans, who had betrayed them, "No, Race. Allow me."

Dr. Quest crept over behind the guard, who had removed his helmet for a moment. Dr. Quest and Race had avoided detection so well that none of their enemies knew where they were and, judging by the lax attitude of the guard, none apparently expected them to be at the administrative building. The guard at the view screen seemed to be the only one around, which seemed odd. They had already encountered less guards than should be patrolling the city.

The guard didn't notice someone was behind him until it was too late. He turned around to see a right cross coming from Dr. Quest. Regardless of how different they may be from humans native to earth, the Akierans could still be knocked out.

"Ow," Dr. Quest exclaimed as he rung his right hand. His opponent had a surprisingly hard head.

"Nice one," Race complimented him as they each lifted one side of the guard and walked him over to the scanner. After it confirmed the guard's identity, the door opened and the men were now inside the headquarters yet again.

Siert'a happened to be nearby and heard the door open. Thinking it was one of his guards, he walked over, startled to see the humans.

"What are you doing here?!" he shouted, trying to step in front of them yet again, but Race wasn't having any of it.

"Not this time," he said firmly, throwing a punch that almost knocked the Akieran through the air.

At last, they were finally about to get to the doors to J'orda's chamber. Each man shoved a door open and walked in angrily.

"What is the meaning of this?" J'orda asked.

"Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji have been captured and we want them freed," Dr. Quest announced matter-of-factly.

J'orda looked genuinely surprised. "What? I promise I knew nothing of this. Siert'a!" he called for his second-in-command.

It took a moment for Siert'a to arrive, as he had just come to, so Dr. Quest and Race had time to fill him in on the events of the past few hours. As Siert'a appeared in the doorway, J'orda asked, "Our guests say that you have imprisoned the young ones that were with them. What is going on? You are to consult me about matters such as these."

"The answer to that, J'orda, is that you are too soft and it is time Atlantis had a new leader."

"To me!" J'orda ordered his personal guard, all of whom sprang into action and raised their weapons toward the traitors.

Siert'a walked into the room as a large number of guards gradually appeared behind him. "I have been planning to deal with you for a long time. The humans forced me to adjust my schedule somewhat, and I tried to get them out of the way, but everything has worked out nonetheless. Guards, I order you to eliminate everyone, including J'orda."

Roughly half the guards trained their weapons on Dr. Quest and J'orda, while most of the other half turned on everyone, including the other guards.

"What?!" Siert'a exclaimed, "You are supposed to serve me."

"Not all of us," came a gruff voice from under one of the helmets.

The guards who had turned on everyone else removed their helmets, revealing faces unknown to those present, but known to the teens. It was the scavengers!

Captain Newman explained, "We took out about half your guards and decided to keep their gear. And, after exploring the city a little bit, we kind of like it here, so we're taking over."

"Oh, great," Race grumbled, "What's next?"

From the doorway, everyone heard Jonny and Jessie both shouting, "Dad!", with Hadji exclaiming, "Dr. Quest! Race!"

After they had gotten free, they returned to the ship and got everyone available from the two crews and crewmembers wandering the city to help, which totaled around 30 men. All carried a variety of weapons, ranging from sidearms to a few energy rifles.

"Well this just got more interesting." Race thought.


	7. Chapter 7

The battle began almost immediately. Energy blasts and bullets filled the air. Luckily, the ships' crewmen that the teens brought quickly discovered J'orda and his guards were on their side and focused their fire on the scavengers and Siert'a's guards. The guards loyal to Siert'a, as well as the scavengers, were firing on each of the other groups besides their own.

Combatants from all sides of the 3-way battle began to fall, either stunned by energy rifles or wounded by well-placed gunshots from the crewmen. After a few loud clinks of bullets ricocheting off armor, they managed to locate small weak points that weren't covered and thus began to target them.

The teens, who had originally come unarmed, grabbed weapons, with Jonny and Hadji getting energy rifles from fallen guards and Jessie taking a sidearm from a sailor who'd been hit. At some point, J'orda and Siert'a seemed to forget about everyone else and focused on each other from opposite ends of the rather large room.

Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji were all firing on the opposing forces from several positions they rotated between, based on which was safest at the moment: just outside the doorway, behind an overturned table, and behind a pillar inside the room. On multiple instances, enemy fire from the scavengers and guards came close to hitting them. Once, Jessie was trying to get a clear shot at Captain Newman and had moved a few feet into the open. Jonny glanced around and realized she was being targeted by at least 1 guard. He reached out and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her behind the safety of the pillar just as multiple energy blasts hit the wall behind where she was standing. These seemed to be higher-powered, as they caused noticeable laser burns.

"Watch it, Ace!" Jonny admonished her as he resumed firing his energy rifle.

"Sorry, Hotshot. Guess you're rubbing off on me," she replied with a sideways smile.

During this time, Bandit was staying with the teens, periodically sticking his head out to bark at their enemies. After an energy blast narrowly missed him, however, he decided it would be better to stay hidden behind the table.

Eventually, the sailors and J'orda's guards were able to pin Siert'a's forces down. At this point, each of them knelt to the ground and surrendered their rifles to J'orda's guards as the sailors kept them covered, just to be safe. The scavengers had all been stunned by this point and would be out for a few hours.

However, J'orda and Siert'a were still fighting. The charge on their energy rifles had ran down, and the pair were now fighting each other hand-to-hand. Jonny started to interfere, but was stopped by two of J'orda's guards.

"They must deal with this themselves," one guard explained.

It was an exciting fight, as both appeared to be in similar conditioning, despite J'orda being noticeably older than Siert'a. It continued on for several minutes, as each threw punches and kicks at the other, some landing, but others missing their mark.

At one point, Siert'a was knocked into his former superior's desk. He reached around and grabbed some sort of small, but heavy-looking ornamental object to use as a weapon. J'orda dropped back a couple of times, before catching Siert'a's wrist after a swing and miss, and then disarming him. Finally, after the leader connected on a few more hits, Siert'a announced as he lowered his head, "I...yield."

J'orda walked over to his former friend, after the guards had seized him, and asked, "Why? You were my second-in-command and head of security. Why would you do this?"

"Because," Siert'a sneered, "for years you have been too lenient on the other Akierans. As leaders of Atlantis, we wield great power and should use it. Additionally, we hold technology far beyond that of the inhabitants of this world and, instead of studying them, should be developing weapons for conquest."

"My friend, we have always been a peaceful race, devoted to science-"

"And that is what makes us weak!" Siert'a interrupted, "We have sacrificed countless opportunities to exert our influence over inferior beings, who could have easily been made to serve us!"

J'orda shook his head sadly, "You have always been more combative than most of our race, Siert'a, and I had hoped that time on Earth on a peaceful scientific mission would change you, but I see I was wrong." Looking toward his guards, he then ordered matter-of-factly, "Take Siert'a, his guards, and the humans that did not come with our guests away and place them into detention cells. I will see to them later."

The leader of Atlantis then walked over to Quest Team. Just as he approached, one of Siert'a's guards who had come to, but was pretending to still be down, raised his energy rifle toward J'orda. Jonny noticed at the last second and dove toward the leader, shouting, "Watch it!" as he pushed their ally out of the way, narrowly avoiding being hit, himself. Before they even hit the ground, one of J'orda's guards fired on the enemy, quickly taking him out of the way once again.

"Jonny, you have saved my life," he said, somewhat astonished.

"It's no big deal."

"Yes, it is. Not only did you save my life this time, but your friends and family likely saved it, and the entire city, by foiling Siert'a's plans. If you had not been here, he might have easily succeeded. How can I repay you?" After a brief pause, he answered his own question, "I know. Let us discuss returning you home."


	8. Chapter 8

Because it was in the middle of the night and everyone had been through a trying day, J'orda allowed them to stay in Atlantis for the night. The next morning, he accompanied them to the large doorway leading to the ship holding area.

"Words cannot express my gratitude. You have saved my life twice and revealed a conspiracy that could have spelled the end of Atlantis. Perhaps we are coming to the end of the time where we need to be distrustful of all humans. You are closer than ever before to being ready for us to finally reveal our presence," Jorda commented the the large group, but especially to the Quests.

"We are honored that you feel that way, J'orda," replied Dr. Quest as he began to reach for his translator. Everyone but those used by the Quests had been collected already, as J'orda wanted to speak with them one more time. "I suppose you'll want these back."

J'orda lowered his voice a little, "Keep them, as friends of the Akierans. Perhaps we will meet again one day."

Everyone smiled as Dr. Quest responded, "Yes, hopefully we shall."

At that, everyone from both crews said their goodbyes and continued into the room. Eventually, they arrived at and began boarding the vessel Quest Team had arrived in. Before she walked up the gangplank, Jessie asked the Akieran in charge of the group escorting them, "What will happen to the others, the humans who tried to take over?"

J'orda's response was marked with regret. "Unfortunately, it would be far too dangerous to allow them to leave. Unlike you, they cannot be trusted with knowledge of our city and therefore can never go free."

Jessie nodded and continued on. Finally, everyone had boarded the now-crowded ship and waved to their new friends, before preparing to be beamed to the surface. They waved their goodbyes as one of the Akierans spoke into a communicator, saying they were ready for transport. The familiar beam of blinding light started up again. Everyone was prepared this time, however,. Before they knew it, they awoke onboard the ship, which was just outside the Sargasso Sea. They were finally back.

As scientists, sailors, and Quest Team awoke, they took their stations. The Captain of their ship ordered, "Helmsman, set course for Bermuda. We're going home."

Jonny walked into the room that had held the scientific equipment, Bandit following close behind. "I can't believe we actually found the lost city of Atlantis," he commented.

Hadji, who was nearby, replied, "Yes. And it is unfortunate that it must stay lost."

"You heard what J'orda said," Jessie added, "We're getting close to the time when they'll finally stop hiding."

Dr. Quest considered this and commented, "That will be a truly remarkable day for mankind."

 **A/N: Thanks for staying with this story to the end. This was a fun fanfic to write and I hope everyone enjoyed it.**


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